While 2021 was a fantastic year for OND, we’re even more excited about 2022! To start things off we are focusing effort in these areas:
Combat
The next round of iteration on the AI itself is underway - the brains of the creatures and how they think and operate based on a number of data points in the world. We are also moving the creatures over to a physics-based system, which will eliminate creatures falling through the ground or through player characters. Having physically based creatures might also have various side benefits, such as running over creatures with your Buggie.
Overall, our goal is to make the battle against hostile alien creatures a key gameplay element of the overall experience. Combat encounters should be something that requires a balance of skill, strategy, and preparation.
*Impaling creatures with special moves is just one of the strategic actions in this next iteration of the combat system.
Story
Voice recording, mission logs, and location based set pieces are being added. Our aim is to expand the lore of the game to include the Osiris Missions, UNE Mission Control on Luna (our moon), and the missing crew that mysteriously vanished prior to your arrival.
HUD and UI
*3D HUD elements can have secondary motion based on input as an option.
The UI continues to get iteration due to changing gameplay systems and what becomes primary and secondary information. The HUD also feels a bit cluttered right now, so we’re addressing that. Quality of life polish such as fading, animating, and transitioning the UI can be added to feel more immersive. Some players have also asked for the 3D UI from earlier versions, so we’re making that an option.
Updated Release Schedule
Performing weekly updates last year had numerous benefits such as stabilizing a healthy code base and streamlining the commit process, but we also found that this frequency started to impair forward progress. For the next few rounds we will try a bi-monthly schedule for larger releases, with small patches and Experimental Builds dropped as needed. After a few releases we'll likely gauge how this has been working and make adjustments accordingly.
In the near term we expect to have a release on Experimental Branch in the next week or two, with a main branch landing soon after.
Once this batch of material is complete we’ll work from the Roadmap, prioritizing the highest voted items first. If you haven’t already, be sure to vote on our Official Trello Board Roadmap.
Website Improvements
Something we like to do over the holidays is give the OND website a nice new coat of paint. Here’s some stuff we did to spruce things up and serve you better:
- Overall style cleanup throughout the site for easier reading on all devices
- New Support page with Knowledge Base and Ticketing Channel (so far this has proven to be way better than juggling emails)
We’re excited to see where these new efforts take the game and can’t wait to see where this next chapter takes us. From all of us on the OND team, thanks for playing and we hope you all have a fantastic 2022!